I’ve been using Google Earth in an attempt to pinpoint our hunting area. It helps to see an aerial view so I can get a sense of where there are thick pockets of tress, saddles and draws that might house an unsuspecting deer. Unfortunately, Google is limited in its ability to be helpful because a good deal of the satellite imagery is outdated.

Google, in an effort to provide more and better data, should enter into an agreement with a company providing such imagery (or simply launch their own satellites, after all, they’ve got the dough) and allow users of Google Earth to request a fly-by of a specific area. You could enter the lat/long of the area you wanted to see, and submit a request. To prevent some idiot from snapping ever more recent photos of his house on their dime, they could charge for priority imaging. The upside is two-fold.

First, Google makes even more money by charging you for the imaging. Second, Google makes the newly snapped image available to everyone else, thereby enhancing the value of the service (better, newer maps underwritten by those who want them most would still carry value for others). The newer. more reliable maps would drive more traffic and more users.

Granted, the land we’re hunting is private land, so the marginal value it gets under the second point is less. For hunters on public lands, however, it would benefit anyone getting a tag there next year because the map is only six months old, not six years.